Smitten Kitten owner Jennifer Pritchett.*
And, and, and ...
Some parents weren't happy about it.
The story reminds me of Auntie Mame when she sent Patrick to Acacius Page's progressive school in the Village. Apparently Gaia Democratic School in Minneapolis may have a similar curriculum? I'm sure the parents understood that the quality of education at Gaia would be progressive and ultra liberal when they enrolled the kids, but I may be wrong.
I'll bet the students at Gaia understand the Bruce Jenner story better than their parents do, but I digress.
Mpls. private school takes students to adult novelty store for sex ed lesson ...
Some parents are outraged after the leader of a small Minneapolis private school took about a dozen middle- and high-school-aged students on a sex education field trip to an adult novelty store late last week.
“It’s just a major breach of trust,” said Lynn Floyd, whose 11- and 13-year-old daughters were part of the outing to the Smitten Kitten. “You just can’t erase those images.”
A leader of Gaia Democratic School and the host of the field trip defended the outing, saying the visit capped a months long sex education class.
Director Starri Hedges, who also teaches the school’s sex education class, said she wanted to provide a safe and welcoming environment for students to learn about human sexual behavior.
“What I saw happening on our trip, I thought it was beautiful because kids could talk to these sex educators without any shame, without any fear,” Hedges said Monday. - Finish reading here.
Well, what could be more wholesome and natural?
About Gaia.
From the website: Gaia is a private school that provides holistic educational services to students K-12 with emphasis on democratic process, individualized instruction, academic freedom, self-motivation, cooperative learning, youth empowerment, and environmental stewardship. We are part of an education movement that has a long, fascinating history and a vibrant, viable future.
At first it was ancient wisdom which stated that we are one with the universe, that everything is interconnected, that all is one.
Then later modern science caught up with this idea. Now quantum physicists say exactly the same thing – in a subatomic level everything is interconnected.
In the 1970s chemist James Lovelock formulated the famous Gaia hypothesis which proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.
Everyone is talking about the same idea, only from different perspectives. We add one more – a visual perspective.
This symbol is presented like a metaphor of us and our earth. It is a big organism and we, people, are parts of this organism; we are not separate. And the earth is also just a part of an even bigger organism. Our earth is like a tree with roots that extend to the vast cosmos. Everything is interconnected. - Read more here.
That's interesting, isn't it.
Gaia: The definition of Gaia is a figure from Greek mythology who was the goddess of the earth - Mother Goddess, or Magna Mater. Today Gaianism is also a New Age religion - but many Gaians are not religious.
*The store’s owner, Jennifer Pritchett, said in an e-mail Monday that she considers Smitten Kitten to be “an educational resource about sex and sexuality. … We leave it up to the discretion of parents and guardians as to when, if, and in what capacity they seek resources from our educators.” -Star Tribune
School director Starri Hughes is obviously insane. From the article: “It was certainly the first time we have taken that kind of field trip and it will probably be our last, which I feel bad [about] because the kids had so much fun,” Hedges said.
ReplyDeleteFun? Can you imagine the nightmares that these children will have?
But parents who would send children to a school whose name begins with "Gaia" should not be surprised by anything.
Agreed. I was going to comment something to the effect of "You send your kids to a school called Gaia Democratic. What did you expect?"
DeleteHow did the Buddha order his pizza? "Make me one with everything."
ReplyDeletewhat?
On a more serious note, I wonder how those 'educators' differentiate between sex ed and early sexualization of children (middle schoolers start at 12), which according to what I've been taught is a technique used by abusers.
ReplyDeleteBig difference between a frank discussion of physical mechanics/biology and where the best place to buy one's gimp suit.
Hmmmmmmmmmm - my commie ex-brother in St. Paul is a fan of Smitten Kitten and just posted on Facebook that he thought the whole thing was a great idea. And he wonders why he is no longer a part of my life?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in school parents had to sign permission slips for kids to go on field trips. When did that stop?
ReplyDeleteWhat?
"Dear parental unit: be advised that your child will attend an educational excursion. Place your signature here."
ReplyDeleteMontgomery Clift could provide his neologism for this entire 'scene': 'Vomitable'.
ReplyDelete"It is a big organism"...
ReplyDeleteTake out two letters from that last word, more like it.
What?
Will Durant said, A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. Guess what folks...that day has arrived.
ReplyDelete